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548th Combat Training Squadron
The 548th Combat Training Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron assigned to the 57th Operations Group at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Overview The 548th Combat Training Squadron provides Air Combat Command-directed support to the U.S. Army’s Joint Readiness Training Center located at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The 548th CTS accomplishes air liaison duties for the JRTC commander, exercises operational control of deployed fighter units to Barksdale, provides deployed unit maintenance and munitions support, schedules and controls exercise airspace, controls close air support missions, builds exercise scenarios, provides observers and controllers to evaluate tactical air control operations and replicates Air Force command and control from division through Joint Task Force level. The 548th CTS serves as host to active Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Marine and Navy units in stressful, realistic combined arms training for both Army and Air Force contingency forces under conditions of low- to mid-intensity conflicts. Squadron members assist in the planning of Air Force operational support and participation in each exercise. The Air Force supports deployments of personnel and equipment with strategic airlift and sustainment of forces in their operational area by theater airlift. Tactical aircraft provide the close air support to the Army contingent on the ground. Important to maintaining the ability to fight and win is tough, demanding force-on-force training. The events occurring in Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan is representative of the kind of realistic training experience our combat units receive, and it’s what the 548th CTS and the JRTC are all about. History During World War II, the 548th Night Fighter Squadron served with Seventh Air Force in the Pacific Theater. The 548th was the first night-fighter squadron to arrive on Iwo Jima (on D+8), where it flew combat for several months. It eventually moved to the island of Ie Shima just 3 miles off the coast of Okinawa, where it finished out the war doing night penetration raids and weather observations to support the B-29 fleet bombing the Japanese home islands. The 548th was reactivated (same insignia: the cat's name is "Skopie" as in "radar-scope") in 1969 as the 548th Combat Training Squadron (548th CTS), Provided special operations training to USAF and Vietnamese aircrews, October 1969 – July 1973. Controlled multi-service close air support and forward air control aircraft and tactical air control assets in realistic combat exercises with the US Army Joint Readiness Training Center, July 1994 – September 1997 Lineage * Constituted as: 548th Night Fighter Squadron on March 23, 1944 : Activated on April 10, 1944 : Inactivated on December 19, 1945 * Activated and Redesignated: 548th Combat Training Squadron on October 15, 1969 : Inactivated on July 31, 1973 * Reactivated on July 1, 1994 : Inactivated on September 30, 1997 * Reactivated on October 4, 2007 Assignments * Fourth Air Force, 10 April 1944 * 7th Fighter Wing, 16 September 1944 * Seventh Air Force, 20 October 1944 * VII Fighter Command, 28 October 1944 * AAF, Pacific Ocean Area : Attached to 301st Fighter Wing, 8 June 1945 * Seventh Air Force, 14 July-19 December 1945 * 4410 Combat Crew Training Wing (later, 4410 Special Operations Training Group), 15 October 1969 – 31 July 1973 * 608 Air Operations Group, 1 July 1994 * USAF Air Ground Operations School, 3 February 1998 * 57th Operations Group, 4 October 2007–present Stations * Salinas AAB, California, April 10, 1944 * Delano AAF, California, June 26 – September 2, 1944 * Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii, September 16, 1944 * Kipapa Gulch Airfield, Territory of Hawaii, October 17, 1944 : Detached: Isely Airfield, Saipan, Mariana Islands, December 15, 1944 * East Field, Saipan, Mariana Islands, January 26, 1945 : Detached: (Ground Echelon), North Field, Bonin Islands (Japan), February 28, 1945 * North Field, Bonin Islands (Japan), March 5, 1945 * Ie Shima, June 12, 1945 * Fort Lewis, Washington, December 17–19, 1945 * England AFB, Louisiana, October 15, 1969 – July 31, 1973 * Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, July 1, 1994 – December 1, 2010 * Fort Polk, Louisiana, December 1, 2010 – present Aircraft * P-70 Havoc, 1944 * P-61 Black Widow, 1944–1945 * C/AC/EC-47, 1969–1973 * Controlled USAF, Navy and Marine aircraft, 1994–1997 References * Northrop P-61 Black Widow—The Complete History and Combat Record, Garry R. Pape, John M. Campbell and Donna Campbell, Motorbooks International, 1991. * * 57th Operations Group Factsheet External links * Deny them the Night Sky:a history of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron Category:Military units and formations of the United States in World War II